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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

The Unhealthy Outdoorsman

Hello, my name is Mark and I'm an Unhealthy Outdoorsman.

How unhealthy you ask?

477 pounds unhealthy.

Carp-ulent, if you will.

So unhealthy that it makes me a bad outdoorsman. I get winded carrying light fishing gear up a hill. I limit myself in how far away from my Explorer I'll walk to chase fish and I know it's limiting my fishing success. The reason you've never seen hunting material on the blog is because camo isn't easily found in a 5xlt top and 52x34in bottom. That and I've never found a treestand rated for 500lbs.

This is the same reason you've never read about me kayaking or wading a stream for smallmouth. There is exactly one pair of waders that might fit me. Buying them would feel like enabling myself to not lose any weight.

How did I get so damn fat you ask? It's not one decision or behavior that led me here, more a perfect storm of factors that have converged over the years. I'm a boredom eater, fast food addict, I work on my ass in a call center, living a mostly sedentary lifestyle since junior high, etc.

Why am I bitching about this on my outdoors-themed blog? Because I need your help.

You see, I'm a follower of healthyoutdoorsman.com, a blog with workout/dietary tips geared exactly towards me and others like me, the unhealthy outdoorsmen. It's run by Paul, a die-hard outdoorsman who is also a personal trainer. (Check it out when you get a minute, it's great motivation.)

Anyway, the other day Paul posted a bit about a diet he personally was going to try out. It intrigued me and I left a quick comment letting him know I was gonna give it a shot.

The diet in question didn't work out for me but it did inspire me to get started on Weight Watchers, which I've done for just over a week and have lost 3lbs on already! Paul sent me an email out of the blue today asking if I had tried out the diet and offering advice if I was serious about losing some weight. He offered to let me try out some of the workout routines he has in the work and such. I'm jumping at the chance, I need all the help I can get.

Which brings me to the real reason for my post. Paul suggested that I blog my experiences in losing weight and I think it's a good idea. Why? Because my wife will love me even if I bloated to Jabba the Hutt-like proportions, and "real-life" friends point out that at 6'5", it's ok for me to weigh more than the average joe.

I need people to hold me accountable. If I don't post for a week or two I need someone to comment and get on my case. When I accomplish something I need congratulations. I know I'm asking alot but I'm hoping you can help. If you don't want to I hope you don't mind ignoring regular "unhealthy outdoorsman" posts.

So what's my plan to lose the 250lbs to get down to a normal weight? Well, as I said above, I've been using Weight Watchers for a little over a week and have already seen success. For now, I'm going to keep that up as far as the nutritional side of things goes.

About a year and a half ago, I got really into running for a couple months when I was 440lbs. I was able to run a 5k in about 40 mins. Believe it or not, about a week and a half ago at 480lbs, I ran 2 miles. (It took half an hour and there may have been as much walking as running but I did it.) There is a 5k coming up at the end of August that I think I want to try to run to give me a short term goal. If Paul gives me some tips I'll be sure to implement them and document the results too.

So what do you think? Feel free to share any encouragement/tips/healthy recipes/success stories in comments section, I'm happy to read them.

(BTW, if you read this far, thanks for sticking around for all that. I feel like an addict going through the "admit you have a problem" stage. )

EDIT: After Paul got me posted on the OBN reader approved list, I've had a couple extra visitors to the blog. If you're one of them, welcome and thanks for checking it out. I've already posted an update here with some results and I'll keep linking to the newest weigh-in.

Sounds good Clif, I don't have a problem walking 2 hours round trip for the kind of fishing I've looked for since starting the blog.

Honestly, your posts and insistence that you have to get as far away from the parking lot as possible to get to the really good fishing are what made me realize how much I was limiting myself. I'll start shopping for boots on payday and then it's on.

Dude, you know darn well you are going to kick ass and take names! I quit smoking 3 years ago and gained lots of weight from it. I joined Weight Watchers 2 years ago and lost it all. Stick with the plan and you will succeed. It works. There will be times you get fustrated but just keep at it.

Paul is right, you should blog about it so there's some accountability to it plus your friends are here to support you! Paul just recently left a comment on my blog so I've been checking him out. It's been an interesting site so I'll be following him too.

You would be a big inspiration to me if you blogged about it - good, bad, and ugly. I blog about everything but my weight, because it is the ONE thing in my life that I constantly do wrong. Like you, I could use somebody to push me on the issue - I have a kid now and I don't intend to die of a heart attack at 37.

LB - It's good to hear from someone who had success with WW. It doesn't feel like I could eat as much as the plan is allowing me and lose weight. I hope I repeat your results.

RD - Thanks for stopping by and following. I've been a follower of yours since the "MNRiverageousLunkeress" contest thingy, I just suck at commenting on what I read. I do most of my reading at work but I can't comment on blogs from there for some reason. So I end up reading something, coming up with something witty to say and totally forgetting about it by the time I get home an online.

BA - Thanks! Let me know if you ever feel like coming down to Peoria like you did last week, we can chase some fish.

Thing - It's really the only thing bad in my life too. I know that if I keep going the way I am, I'll probably be dead by the time I'm 30. 23 and 477lbs is no way to be living life.

Hell Yeah Mark!! It is great to see you have already made progress. In the mean time, I am going to try and conjure up a good routine for ya. I am so happy to see that you finally put your purse down, got uncomfortable, and posted about your weight loss journey :). I truly wish you all the best. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Mark, sorry I'm late to the party but I was traveling through your home state and wading a stream for Smallmouths the day you posted it. You should have been there with me so I wouldn't have been alone in being outfished by a girl. You could have burned some calories too... I know I did.I'm very much looking forward to following your success on your blog. I don't have much advice, but I do have a friend who has lost almost 100 lbs recently by riding a bike on a local greenway. He's only 5'9" and weighed close to 300 when he started. You'll need a big bike, but it's lower impact on the knees than running for sure. I'm wanting to get back into biking myself. I absolutely hate running, but biking I can do all day long. I think it kinda makes you feel like a kid again.Keep us posted... regularly.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support and thanks for checking out the blog.

Jay - Wish I woulda known the day, I would've been all about it. I looked briefly into biking but I wasn't able to find a bike that worked. Maybe I'll check it out again. We're currently trying to move 12ish miles to the town where I work for financial reasons and if we do I'll definitely either be walking or biking to work as it's a tiny town.

Hi Mark: Your story makes me want to cry because it hits SO close to home. I am in the middle of working on a blog post about my son who recently lost 85 lbs. He did it all himself. The physical and mental transformation is AMAZING! I am so proud of him. It was LIFE-CHANGING! Anyway, right now he is doing a Habitat for Humanity so I can't finish his story until he gets back and helps me fill in all my notes. I think you will be interested in his story AND his methods. And I think he will be more than happy to email you and give you support if you like. This past month he has gone water skiing and cliff climbing, 2 things he was way too heavy to do before. I am going to follow you and cheer you on because I know first hand what a huge differance it can make in your life. You can do it!

Way to go Mark! I've had the weight issue my entire life so I can relate. I stay in good shape for a big woman as far as my mobility goes but I've been trying to drop a few too. I'll follow your progress, keep up the great work!